The UX and N Series Notebooks

The UX Series

Thin, light and shiny. That's the first impression we got of the attractive ultraportable notebook that ASUS revealed here; the UX Series will come with the latest Intel Core mobile processors (up to Core i7) and will have the option of SATA 6Gbps SSDs. All that in a package that measures just 17mm at its thickest point and with a feathery weight of 1.1kg.

ASUS claims that it's Instant-on technology enables the notebook to resume from its previous state in two seconds while it's capable of lasting up to a week when in hibernation mode (and 7 hours battery life). And USB 3.0 ports instead of Thunderbolt, which in our opinion, is the more practical move now.

The N Series

ASUS has also continued its push into PC audio with a followup to its NX90. Jointly developed with audio specialists Bang & Olufsen like the previous model, the new N Series notebook will again be focused on audio; there's now a dedicated external subwoofer for more authentic bass. Again, no details on the specs besides the expected Intel 2nd-gen Core processor and USB 3.0 support, but given its multimedia slant, we expect more than decent performance.

Eee PC Goes MeeGo

Intel's MeeGo operating system has not gained much traction since it was launched last year, but ASUS has supported the OS by having it on some of its Eee PC. This continues with the latest Eee PC, the X101, which will be one of the cheapest netbooks ever if ASUS has its way. The company is putting a US$199 price tag on the X101, with the MeeGo option and its lowest-end configuration.